


Bey Bae içer

by Inkn1ght1



Category: Diriliş: Ertuğrul | Resurrection: Ertugrul (TV)
Genre: AU, F/M, aktolgali shenanigans, slow slow burn, what if, what if there were only one horse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:07:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25520335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkn1ght1/pseuds/Inkn1ght1
Summary: After rescuing Halime Sultan from Halep Ameer El Aziz, Bey and the boys are getting ready to return to the tribe and stop the battle. Only problem, there aren't enough horses for everyone, because they are in the middle of a forest. What could Halime do except share Aktolgali with Bey?Some romance in inevitable. Weren't they separated for the best part of this journey?
Relationships: Ertuğrul Ghazi/Halime Sultan
Comments: 19
Kudos: 15





	1. May the sun not burn your skin

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thelonewolfwrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelonewolfwrites/gifts), [arpita](https://archiveofourown.org/users/arpita/gifts).



> based on Diriliş Ertuğrul, Season 1 Episode 40-41

_ As she held up her hands to him _

_ his face blossomed _

_ like a sun that shines a thousand years _

Today as the sun shone brighter she raised her hands to him. In this moment where death reigned around them, she dared to hope. In this moment when she gained what she had no hope of gaining. A moment of relief, a moment where some things were not lost yet. And she held her hands up.

The last time he held her she had almost given up hope. She was building up the courage to live the rest of her life in his memories. In remembering the first moment he laid eyes on her with an arrow notched on his bow, and saved her from the infidels. The memory of his first gift to her, a reflection of himself to keep forever.

But now, the clouds had disappeared. The air smelled of flowers and her heart skipped a beat when he smiled. His eyes held a love deeper than the sea, warmer than the sun, all encompassing like the sky. And he raised his own hands and covered hers.

The warmth suffused every cell in her body.  The  unearthly chill she had felt ever since that arrow had pierced her skin, dissipated like mist on a spring morning .

His palm, so much bigger than hers, covered her hands. His hands weren't soft, the scars told a history of the roughness of battles. The ring on his thumb was cool to the touch, and it sent a shiver through her body. An electric sensation built inside her, a fire low in her belly. A need, a desperate cry for more.

She did not know who sighed first. But a breath of air, warm and sultry played between them. A breath of relief. The worst was over.

She saw it in his eyes. The immeasurable love and respect; a sliver of possessive satisfaction he had let her see. She smiled.

_ Yes, she was his. _

He smiled back.

_ as he was hers. _

In these few moments nothing existed but them.

Ertuğrul for Halime, Halime for Ertuğrul.

There were no horses or dead bodies around. No Dogan . No Bamsi. Not even Ameer El Aziz. There was no earth, no air, no sky.

Only two hearts that beat in sync with each other. The world tried to tear them apart, but their blood called to each other and they were together again.

"Bey" Bamsi called out.

Dogan facepalmed.

The moment broke.

***************************************

Ameer El Aziz, the sovereign of Halep, was smart enough to know when he  was beaten . He also had a better picture of what was happening. He understood his folly and wished his uncle was back. Hence, he wasted no time writing a letter to his commander of armies.

Now arrived the unexpected dilemma.

El Aziz and Halime had arrived in his carriage. His lone surviving soldier was driving it back to Halep with him.The Kayi men had one horse each. No horse for Halime.

When Bamsi presented the issue, El Aziz had a suggestion.

"Ertuğrul, while you go to your tribe with the letter, Halime Sultan can stay at the Halep Palace-"

"No!"

It came from both the lovers.

They shared a look. Another separation was something none of them could bear.

Ertuğrul strode to his horse.

"Aktolgali can carry us both."

He stroked her mane.

Then he looked at El Aziz, daring him to challenge it.

It was unheard of for a young unmarried woman to travel with men not related to her.

But El Aziz was no fool, not at that moment. The air  fairly crackled with the tension between Halime and Ertuğrul. He pitied the two Alps who had to put up with that all the way to the Obasi.

"So that  is settled then." He nodded at them and climbed into his carriage.

He had to get away from these people.

Although he  was infatuated with the beauty of Halime Sultan, even he could see the purity of her feelings for the Kayi Bey . And his for hers.

Ameer El Aziz could not wait to get far enough away from this beautiful dream he may never have.

*************************************************************

His mare wouldn't feel the extra weight. Ertuğrul was sure of it. He stroked her mane and murmured, "Aktolgali!"

He climbed up and let his foot out of the stirrups for Halime. He held out a hand. Halime smiled, put her hand in his, her feet in the stirrups and swung onto the saddle behind him.

Dogan and Bamsi, who stood around pretending to get their own horses ready, smiled at each other.

As Dogan climbed on his own horse, he whispered to Bamsi,

"Stay back a little. Do you hear me?"

Bamsi nodded with a smile.

*****************************

Ertuğrul had been riding horses since he could sit a saddle. But when his Sultan's fingers clutched at his sides and her weight leaned into him, he forgot all his lessons.

A moment passed. Another. His heart beat so  loudly , Aktolgali neighed in protest.

Another moment, he clicked his tongue and they were off.

For the first time in his life, he hated the thickness of his fur cloth. It kept him from feeling the tenderness of her touch. Her weight was a warmth on his back, but he wanted to feel her touch. A never before felt sensation stole through him.

Aktolgali took them far, but even she could not go farther with the weight of two on her.

So they stopped near a stream.

Climbing up on a horse was easier than climbing down.

Halime hesitated.

"Let me get down first." Bey suggested.

He got down and held up a hand to assist her.

She gripped the saddle and swung her feet, but she miscalculated her grip and slipped.

And fell.

Into his arms.


	2. May the rain not make you cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the journey continues taking them into unexpected territories.

He froze.

A soft warm weight she was. And she smelled of wildflowers that grew in the woods. Her breathing was shallow and fast. So was his. His reflexes were a blessing when he caught her. But his body reacted so fast to her proximity that he had difficulty thinking.

Clip Clop

Clip Clop

His Alps were nearing.

Ertuğrul  slowly let her down. She didn't move away, but stood in his shadow, still touching. He breathed her scent once more and turned away. To the stream.

It was only after he threw water on his burning emotions, and face that he turned around.

Bamsi was walking the perimeter.

Dogan walked their horses to the stream.

Halime still stood near Aktolgali, her hands in her mane. She was talking to her but her gazelle eyes were on Ertuğrul. He felt hunted by a gazelle.

“There is a caravanserai a few clicks north. If it would be okay for Halime Sultan, we could stay the night.” Dogan suggested.

He nodded.

*****************

Bamsi and Dogan scouted ahead. 

Ertuğrul approached the gazelle and the horse.

She turned her eyes to him, “May I ride in the front?”

He knew it was hard riding behind. And she had never once complained.

He knew what she asked, but a roar of noise in his head drowned out a whole lot of reason. His heart was beating so  wildly , he feared she could hear the racket.

But he was an alp. A brave.

He clawed out of the haze and nodded.

Halime climbed on Aktolgali.

And took her feet off the stirrups.

_ She may lead, she may direct, but Ertuğrul would be the one to ride. _

Ertuğrul grabbed the saddle horn. His thumb grazed her fingers. He put his feet in the stirrups and swung up behind her. She scooted up a little.

“It’s alright, Halime. Be comfortable, lean back.” His voice dropped, a  barely audible husky whisper.

She sighed and leaned into him.

He took the reins from her fingers and signaled his horse.

They were off. This leg of the journey would  be imprinted in his mind, even if he lived a thousand years.

*******************************************

Every other step Aktolgali took, pressed Halime harder into his embrace.

She was positive she could feel his heartbeat. This must be uncomfortable for him, she worried.

_ Perhaps _ _ this was not a good idea. What was she thinking? _

As a stretch of grassy plains came up, Halime twisted her head to look up at him.

He had a smile on his face. The smile of a fox that got into a hen pen. A satisfaction spread through her. She smiled too, then he turned to her. When their eyes met, the satisfied smirk turned into something more lethal.

A fierce possessiveness, a molten desire.

His dark eyes caught hers in a tangle of fiery need.

“Don't look at me like that, Halime.” he murmured

She turned  abruptly , a hot blush spread over her face.

When he took her name like that, like a  _ dua _ , she melted.

Ertuğrul spoke in her ear, “The rose on your cheek,  I believe I put it there.”

It spread.

“It’s only ever yours”, she replied. 

They rode for another hour.

When they climbed down a hill, they could see the stone walls of the caravanserai.

Ertuğrul slowed.

His Alps were ahead. They would reach the inn and make the necessary arrangements. He watched them gallop in sync with each other. His Alps, His boys. The three of them were more precious to him than his own life.

A pang in his chest. 

_ Turgut!  _ His brother.

His hand tightened on the reins.

"Any news about Turgut?"

Halime asked.

She knew him. His heart. His gazelle eyed lover.

"He is in the Templars castle."

Her hand covered his left hand on the reins.

"We will get him back."

It wasn't a placation. It was a declaration. Her confidence in him made her even more precious.

"Would you like to come with us when we storm the castle?"

He opened his hand for her to tangle her fingers with his.

She turned her head  slightly .

"I am not good enough with a sword. I need to learn archery from Aykiz."

"Hmmmmm.." He hummed.

The image of her pulling out El Aziz's sword to cut him loose from the noose of death. It would never disappear from his mind.

"I will teach you." He said soft and murmuring.

"The bow and arrow, the long spear, and the sword.  _ Deli _ Demir will make a sword for your hand if you asked."

She half turned in her seat, her face bright in joy.

"He would, wouldn't he?"

Then she lowered her eyes.

"Thank you, my Bey."

The possession in her voice sent a molten river through his veins.

He bent his head and nuzzled her hair.

"Whatever you wish, my Sultan."

His gazelle eyed lover looked up  slowly . Her breath warmed his face, her lips mere inches away from his. Their noses  barely touching. The whisper of contact burned his chains. His hold slackened.

Aktolgali raced.

He saw it a moment before it happened.

A ravine, the width of two steps. It wasn't anything his Aktolgali couldn't handle. But his hold on the reins were loose. Halime wasn't holding onto anything but his own hand on the reins.

The reins..

He tightened his hold, but Aktolgali had taken the lead, and the leap. The leather of the rein scraped across his palm. And hers. She whimpered and let go. But Aktolgali was mid leap. Halime left the saddle and rose a few inches,  a mere moment before he clamped his other hand across her waist.

Ertuğrul pulled her to himself and took both the reins in one hand. He would not let go of her. Not now.

She gasped. Her heart, a wild bird in her chest.

Ertuğrul had fought many battles. Been ambushed, hurt, and rendered helpless. He had even once gone toe to toe with a bear. If not for Bamsi interfering, he would not be alive today. But none of that scared him. When he felt Halime leave her seat, his life was ready to leave his body.

For the first time in life, Ertuğrul  was scared .

******************************************

She hissed in pain, then opened her palm to blow on it.

An angry red welt, bright across her palm.

Ertuğrul's voice in her ear.

"What is it, Halime?"

When he said her name like that, her indrawn breath refused to leave her body. And she realised her situation.

His arm was tight across her stomach.

Ertuğrul guided Aktolgali to a copse of trees and stopped. 

The sun was lowering on the horizon.

He lifted her palm in his and raised it.

She hissed again and drew back into him. His arm around her tightened.

Halime's whole body felt him.

Her warrior was strong, she knew that. His powerful thighs clenched and moved when controlling his horse's movements. She had felt each of those moves in her own thighs. And further in her stomach. The first time he used his thighs to direct the horse, her heart had dropped into her stomach and lower. An insistent pulse was a regular occurance in that part of her body.

Now though, she  was surrounded by him. His thighs bracketed hers. His arms around her like a vise she would never want to escape.

Aktolgali moved and she caught his hand in surprise. His hold, impossible as that was, tightened.

He lifted her palm and blew on it. She shrank further into him.

He stiffened.

"Halime," he said through clenched teeth. "Don't move."

_ What new threat had appeared at this moment? _

She sat still.

A moment passed. Nothing moved. She tried to slow down her breathing. But it was impossible when her Ertuğrul surrounded her thus.

He still held her close, had not gone for the weapons.

His palm held hers. His thumb enclosed in the beautiful tribe ring caressed her own thumb.

_ How would it feel to have that ring caress a different part of her body? _

An unbidden thought entered her mind.

She closed her eyes.

_ no _

This is not the time or the place.

Her own hand tightened on his.

Ertuğrul let out a sigh and buried his face in her neck.

"Halime," he breathed.

"Ertuğrul," she cried in reply and leaned her head back.

This proximity was hard on them, very hard on him.

The evidence of his passion was a brand against her body. There was no going back from this. She let go of her own chains. This was Ertuğrul. The one man she would ever surrender to. 

The sky was pink like the blush that stole through her face and neck. Her neck tingled where his scruffy beard scraped and caressed.

"Halime!"

His voice, her name. A prayer on his lips.

"Ertuğrul!"

His thumb stroked her palm,  carefully , never touching her ache. She did not ache there anymore. Her ache was in her heart, and lower in the butterflies in her stomach. She ached for something unnamed.

His arm around her relaxed. His fingers stroked her waist, up and down.

Up!

Down!

A fire started low in her belly. It would consume her soon, she knew.

She gripped his arm tighter, as his nose skimmed a path up her neck. And down, his lips brushed her neck.

"Halime!"

She felt his lips carve her name in her skin.

The fire was all over her now.

An icy fire was the path his lips took.

She drew in a breath and cried, "Ertuğrul!"

A prayer, a demand, a plea.

"Halime!" 

Her skin was hot. And his lips kissed a path down her collar and up her throat.

_ What was happening? _

She was frantic.

His lips trailed up to her jaw, his hand stroking her waist in a rhythm so familiar, she couldn't place.

She felt him move under her.

She didn't realise it, but she was sitting on his lap. And it felt so right.

His lips brushed her ear.

"Halime Sultan. My Sultan. My Halime. My gazelle eyed love."

She opened her eyes.

He lifted her off him and sat her on the saddle proper. Then took her shoulder.

"I will walk."

She nodded.


	3. May no rock touch your feet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The caravanserai. the last stop before they reach his parents.

The caravanserai  was situated between a hillside and a small river. When they reached , Dogan had already hunted down a quiet space towards the back. It was private, secluded, and had a small doorway, in case they wanted to get out in a hurry.

The innkeeper served  freshly prepared cag kebab, pita, and pilaf.

The food was  supposedly wonderful.

Ertuğrul wouldn't know.

Every time, Halime put a piece of bread on her lips, his eyes stopped there. He struggled to look away. To watch for enemies. to  simply look at the food, or to listen to Bamsi prattling on about something.

_ When did he start noticing her lips? _

Or the way she chewed  softly . That was doing something to him. His insides churned  uncomfortably when she chewed.

Bamsi was saying something. Dogan laughed into his sleeve.

Halime smiled. He felt the sun rise in his heart, in the middle of the night.

They looked at him.

Bamsi's face fell.

Because he hadn't responded.

So he cracked a smile. And hit him on his back.

Bamsi laughed again. Dogan shook his head .

He pretended to concentrate on the food in front of him.

_ Was it tasty? He wouldn't know. _

He didn't know if he was eating a juicy lamb or a dry spoon. Made no difference to him.

He reached for the pita. He touched, not the bread, but Halime's fingers.

The night stood still and watched.

He didn't dare look up into her eyes.

He heard Dogan say.

"We will go watch the horses, Bey."

He nodded. What else was he to do?

His boys were giving them space.

" Shall we start with the sun then?" he asked, removing his hand  surreptitiously .

"As you wish, my Bey."

Both of them put their hands to the heart.

Tomorrow they will reach the Obasi.

"Dogan Alp," Halime said, "Can you find me a horse ?"

Dogan bowed and they left.

She was right. They couldn't ride on Aktolgali together to his father's tent.

He turned to Halime. Her cheeks were bright as apples.

His heart would burst out any minute now.

She looked towards him. He nodded and turned to the food.

He couldn't contemplate eating another piece of food. So he took a bowl of water and drank.

When he raised his head from the bowl, he saw how her gazelle gaze was on his lips.

This was going to be a very long night.

**********************************

A very warm night, it was. There was a thunderstorm in her chest.

Ertuğrul sat beside her on the raised dais. He leaned back against the rail. His arm rested on his bent leg. His other hand, the dominant left hand, played with the knot of thread on the hilt of his sword. The knot that she had given him when all this was an impossible dream. 

Any minute now, the innkeeper would come and tell them about the situation of their rooms. She would rest in the room while he would stay here or with his boys. Tomorrow they would ride to the Kayi Obasi on different horses. She missed Aktolgali already. Her unhurried gait, and joyous gallop. She missed her Sultan too. But what she missed most was Ertuğrul's arms around her, heavens forgive her.

Anything could happen in the tent.

Suleyman Shah did not want her as a daughter-in-law. What if?

She  abrubtly put her hand to the chest.

Ertuğrul turned to her.

"Halime?'

His husky baritone soothed her panic a little.

"What if Suleyman Shah doesn't approve?"

she raised her eyes to his.

The brown of his intense gaze darkened, a molten fury against the world.

"I will talk to Baba and Ana. They know where my heart is. "

He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkled.

He wasn't worried.

He smiled wider, because Halime still frowned.

"Ana will  probably talk to you." He couldn't imagine how that conversation would go.

But talking to Hayme ana was the last thing on Halime's mind.

Ertuğrul had a beautiful dimple on his right cheek that only ever appeared when he was happy. Her eyes refused to move away from the sight.

Ertuğrul frowned. The dimple disappeared.

Halime was still not saying anything. Her eyes  locked on his mouth.

The pulse in his heart dropped to his stomach. His eyes moved towards her lips.

The soft pink of her bow shaped lips reminded him of  barely ripe strawberries.

_ Would they taste as sweet and tart? _

"Bey."

The innkeeper.

Ertuğrul looked towards the man who saved him.

"The room you asked for is ready."

Ertuğrul nodded and stood in one move.

He lent a hand to Halime. She took it and rose.

But when he released his hold, and followed the innkeeper, her hold tightened instead of loosening.

The next moment she realised it and let go.

She wasn't ready for this beautiful dream to end. Neither was he.

He took her hand again, entwined their fingers.

The night still belonged to them. 

The innkeeper left them at the door.

The room was cozy. A window opened into the night. Candles burned, stomping on the night trying to creep in.

Halime stepped inside. Her hand opened. She expected him to leave her.

But he was so used to being with her, he couldn’t .

Couldn’t let go.

Her eyes, her gazelle eyes, pulled at him.

He knew what common sense requested. What propriety demanded.

But he couldn’t think anymore.

Another moment passed. They still stood on the threshold of fire; neither ready to let go and walk into loneliness.

A noise somewhere behind him.

The sense of decorum Ana put in him won.

He let go.

_ Goodbye, my gazelle. From tomorrow if we got a minute to see each other, I would believe myself lucky. _

But she was not ready.

Her fingers closed around his, and pulled. Ertuğrul stepped into the room and closed one half of the door, to lean on it.

His gazelle wasn’t ready.

He wasn’t either. Decorum  be damned .

“Ertuğrul,” her eyes tracked his own.

His name on her lips was a soft susurration. No one ever called his name the way his Halime did. The consonants  were rolled over and the vowels spread over them like butter on warm bread.

“güzel aşkım benim!”

_ My beautiful love! _

He touched her face, a brush of his finger.

Her eyes half closed and she hummed.

He couldn’t help but smile. Yes, these  were stolen moments.

But even this slice of heaven has to end.

His fingers found a curl of hair that had escaped her headdress.

“I should go.” he said with a sigh.

A frown, still closed eyes, and a pretty soft pout.

His Halime was playful. She turned her head away, still pouting.

He smiled wide.

“Halime,” Sweet nectar from his lips. That was her name.

Her eyes met his, a playful smile on her strawberry lips.

The way she had turned her head, her long gazelle neck  was exposed .  _ And oh so tempting. _

He  was transported to the forbidden moments in the copse of trees a few hours ago.

She did taste like how he imagined heaven to be. Even better.

And all that skin was so close to his fingers.

The night crept in through the windows on a wind. One of the candles flared, throwing shadows on them, their faces. But even this night wasn’t long enough.

He did not know what the tent held in the light of the morning. But he knew what his heart said in the light of Allah.

And that truth, more than anything else told him to let go.

He saw her heart in her eyes and he nodded. She leaned her head on his chest.

Their hands closed around each other. 

She closed her eyes when his hand covered the side of her neck. His lips on her forehead, his thumb drew a long line down her throat. A possessive stroke of the warmth of his finger and the cold of his thumb ring.

She hugged him tighter and exhaled.

“You  really should go.”

Ertuğrul laughed out loud. His  _ güzel ceylan  _ was still playing. He could only imagine…

_ No. Don’t go there _ .

Not when she was soft and content as a kitten in his arms.

With another stroke that he couldn’t help, he let go.

_ Oh, the things he wanted to do to her, with her. _

She smiled like the kitten she was when she wasn’t his gazelle. She knew. She knew all that he wanted to do, and  probably had her own plans for him.

He smiled back, an eyebrow raised.

A blush on her cheek, but her smile was even wider now.

She took his shoulder and pushed him out of the door. Or tried to.

“You are heavier than you look.” An exasperated mock admonishment.

He couldn't help but reply.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

The blush was hotter now. She shook her head.

“Ertuğrul Bey!”

He smiled, and touched his forehead to hers.

“Sleep well, my sweet strawberry lips.”

A kiss on her hair.

Then he turned around and stepped out.

She closed her door, still smiling.

“You too.”

A nod, and he left.

He wouldn’t sleep. The beauty of this day was to  be treasured till the day he wouldn’t have to leave her at the door.

Although, he suspected they would treasure this day for the rest of their lives. The day his gazelle eyed love confessed her feelings, the day his chains fell away and he felt his heart breathe.

This day and this night. The night he drank her in.

  
  



End file.
